Storage and packaging of bulk food items and method

ABSTRACT

A semi-automated food processing station, system and method is provided that allows food to be dispensed, stored and packaged in a suitable container, which may be an individual portion-sized container for serving to a customer. In one embodiment, the system includes an automated salting device, and may include a pivotable food receiving tray that automatically transfers the food items to one or more storage bins, where an infrared heater maintains the temperature of the food items by directing infrared radiation thereon. In a preferred embodiment, the infrared radiation passes through a filter that filters out the wavelengths of infrared radiation that may be irritating to an operator.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/413,233,filed on Apr. 28, 2006, pending, the entire disclosure of which ishereby expressly incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to food processing of food items and,more particularly, to automated food processing, storing and dispensingof food items, such as at a quick-service type restaurant.

2. Background Art

In restaurants, especially quick-service restaurants, rapid, consistent,efficient and safe food preparation is essential for a successfuloperation. The quality of the prepared food depends in large part on theconsistency of food preparation and storage. The food must be cookedusing correct procedures and must be processed after cooking underappropriate conditions for the proper time.

Consistency in food preparation and storage times for cooked food itemsmay vary as a result of many factors. For example, people engaged infood preparation often must perform multiple tasks at frequencies thatvary with time because of constantly varying customer demand throughoutthe day. For example, lunchtime and dinnertime may be extremely busywhile other periods may be relatively slow. The product mix can varyfrom hour to hour and day to day. As a result, the consistency andquality of food may vary. Difficulties in proper scheduling of foodproduction during peak and non-peak periods can cause customer delaysand/or stale, wasted or unusable food. Food preparation can be laborintensive, and thus, the labor cost can be a large portion of the totalcost of the prepared food. Additionally, food items stored underconditions that maintain temperatures at an appropriate level oftenutilize infrared heat lamps that emit rays that may affect the comfortlevel of the employees.

Quick-service restaurants must be able to effectively meet a variablecustomer demand that is time dependent and not subject to preciseprediction. As a result, stores relying totally on human operatorsperforming their function at predetermined times will necessarilyoccasionally be overstaffed and at other times be under-staffed. Also,potential health and safety concerns can arise with the amount of directcontact of the operator with the food being prepared. By reducing orminimizing human contact with food and food cooking equipment, healthand safety concerns can also be reduced or minimized. Any time or worksavings that can be implemented will assist in maintaining consistencyof food quality and with employer satisfaction with working conditionsat higher levels.

Although quick-service restaurants have existed for many years and nownumber in the tens of thousands, such establishments utilize manuallabor to prepare and process food. While there have been variousimprovements in commercial equipment used for cooking and processingcooked food in quick-service restaurants, such restaurants are believedto be substantially all manually operated and are relatively laborintensive.

Restaurants, and particularly the quick-service type of restaurant,depend upon quickly preparing, packaging and serving food in order tominimize customer waiting and to ensure freshness and quality of thefood items when served to the customer. Equipment operators in aquick-service restaurant prepare food items, for example French fries,in bulk, typically tossing them from a fry basket into a holding orstorage area. The bulk food items may then be salted by hand or with ahandheld salting device that ensures a controlled portion of salt isdelivered to the food items in the holding area. The salted food itemsare sometimes manually tumbled or agitated to distribute the saltamongst the food items, for example French fries. Cost and labor savingsdevices are desirable in the food preparation process. For example,automated salting, with a predetermined amount of salt, of a batch ofbulk food items reduces the amount of manual time needed to prepare andserve the food items. Moreover, while some operator contact with thefood is to be expected, certain operations and work stations that areautomated so as reduce the need for human contact and attention willgreatly alleviate some of these potential problems.

Non-uniform salting may result when done manually. Also, at times thereis a delay between when the cooked French fries are delivered to theholding area and when they are salted, perhaps because the attention ofthe operator is diverted to performance of other tasks. While the Frenchfries are sitting, they begin to cool, and when they are eventuallysalted, the adhesion of salt is poor. Other times, the holding area maynot be emptied before another batch of cooked French fries istransferred into the holding area. When these freshly cooked fries aresalted, the fries from the previous batch end up being oversalted.

A need exists for an apparatus and method for automating the preparationof seasoned food items, such as bulk salted French fries, wherein thework station, system and method further enhance the consistency ofsalting, and improve the overall distribution and adhesion of salt orother seasoning on the cooked food. Automation of other portions of thefood processing operation is desirable to reduce the number ofoperational steps for which the operator is responsible during foodprocessing. While these needs and desires exist for the preparation ofsalted French fries, it is also recognized that seasoning needs existfor any foods, breaded or non-breaded, which are prepared in-batch orindividually and are subsequently seasoned, for example, but not limitedto: other fried or cooked vegetables, chicken pieces or nuggets, shrimp,fish fillets and so forth.

Accordingly, a need exists for increased automation for a commerciallysuitable food dispensing and packaging device, system and method forfried foods that can be operated with a minimum of human intervention,attention and maintenance. More particularly, a need exists for a foodpackaging station, system and method that is capable of, withoutexcessive human labor, processing food items where various food productsin desired quantities, such as bulk French fries, are stored, and alsofor seasoning the cooked food items and packaging the cooked food itemsin individual portion-sized containers while simultaneously reducing theamount of manual labor.

Where such systems and work stations may be incorporated in restaurantestablishments by retrofitting of existing equipment, this will improvethe work environment of the restaurant while simultaneously providingfood having more consistent quality while using significantly lessmanual labor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a food processing station,system and method are provided. The food processing station, system andmethod in accordance with the invention allow food to be dispensed andpackaged in a suitable container or, alternatively, dispensed to a foodtemporary holding or storage area for subsequent processing by a humanoperator.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an operatorstation, system and method for processing, dispensing and packaging foodinto individual portion-sized containers are provided. In oneembodiment, the system includes an improved manually transposed, butautomatedly actuated, dispensing fry basket capable of dispensing adesired quantity of cooked food items to a packaging or storage areaadjacent a cooking station where the cooked food items are packaged intoindividual portion-sized containers.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an optionalautomated seasoning device is present to apply seasoning to the bulkfood items in a holding area freeing up the operator to perform anothertask.

The dispensing operation in accordance with the invention, in oneembodiment, is capable of dispensing one or more of cooked French fries,chicken nuggets, hash browns, chicken patties, and fish filets orsimilar types of food items to be packaged while reducing operatorcontact with the food items.

In another embodiment, food is delivered from the fry vat to a cookedfood holding and processing station, which can comprise a heated holdingbin or bins. In one embodiment of the system, the heated holding binsare heated by infrared radiation heating lamps, including a protectiveshield for filtering out unwanted frequencies of electromagneticradiation emanating from the infrared radiation lamps.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the automatedsystem further includes a carton holding bin for holding the individualportion-sized carton or container in a convenient position to be readilyavailable to the operator, the container being able to receive bulk fooditems from the holding or storage area.

In one embodiment, the holding area may have one or more separations orbins to provide different food storage areas for holding the bulk fooditems so as to isolate the recently processed bulk food items from thoseof a previous batch, thereby to provide a first cooked, first outsystem, thereby limiting the instances of stale food items from beingserved to a customer.

In another embodiment of the invention, the food processing stationcomprises an automated seasoning device, having a hopper with a hopperopening; a seasoning dispensing drum positioned to receive seasoningfrom the hopper opening; and a pivotable food receiving tray positionedto receive seasoning from the seasoning dispensing drum.

In another embodiment, the dispensing drum has one or more grooves. Thegrooves facilitate supplying a pre-measured amount of seasoning to thebatch of food items. The grooves are preferably designed to hold acertain predetermined amount or weight of seasoning depending on theamount of food expressed in a single standard batch. In one embodimentthe drum rotates to the extent that one groove of seasoning is deliveredto each new batch of bulk food items. Alternatively, if more seasoningis desired, the drum is capable of rotating to the extent that more thanone groove of seasoning is applied to a particular batch of bulk fooditems. Additionally, an override control may be provided to produce abatch of unsalted food items for a customer order.

In still a further embodiment, one or more seasoning diverter rods arepositioned between the seasoning dispensing drum and the food itemholding area, typically a food receiving tray. The diverter rods divertthe seasoning into a pattern that maximizes uniform distribution ofseasoning. In one embodiment, seasoning diverter rods are positionedstaggered above and below each other, which results in a dispersionpattern of seasoning to roughly mirror a rectangle of seasoning thatmatches the food receiving tray, and which evenly covers the food itemson the food receiving surface of the moveable food receiving tray.

In still another embodiment, the automated food processing station andsystem has a pivotable food item receiving tray. When the tray is in thedown position, the bulk food items are dispensed to a food receivingsurface of the food item receiving tray. The food items may be placed onthe food receiving surface of the tray manually, or may be delivered byan automated food preparation system. When the food is delivered to themoveable food receiving tray, the drum motor turns, typically so thatone portion of seasoning transfers from a groove in the drum to the fooditems resting on the food item receiving tray. When the drum turns,another groove on the drum fills up with seasoning, for the next batchof food items. Once the food is seasoned, a tray motor rotates thepivotable food receiving tray to an inclined or nearly vertical positionso that the seasoned food items slide or tumble off of the foodreceiving tray to a food storage or packaging area. Tumbling the fooditems into the packaging area further aids in the distribution ofseasoning on the individual food items, for example, French fries inbulk. In one exemplary embodiment, the entire automated seasoningprocess requires less than 3 seconds to complete, and the process may befully automated from the moment that the cooked food items are dispensedor delivered to the food receiving tray.

The automated seasoning device can be initiated to commence seasoningmanually, for example, by placing the bulk food items on a foodreceiving tray or platform, such as a pivotable tray, and having theoperator press an actuator button. Alternatively, the automatedseasoning device can commence after initiating a sufficient amount offood items are sensed on the food receiving tray by an appropriatesensor. As a preselected amount of the food items is delivered to thefood receiving platform, and a sensor senses the presence of cooked foodtherein.

The sensor may be any suitable structure, for example, a weight sensor,a load cell, an ultrasonic, optical, or other sensor, that is associatedwith the food receiving tray. The sensor will sense the presence of abatch of food items and with appropriate switching, a drum motoractivates, whereby the food is seasoned, and a platform motor thenactivates to rotate the pivotable tray and deliver the seasoned food tothe food packaging area, for example, a food item storage bin. Theappropriate switching and circuitry to fully automate the automaticseasoning device are known to those skilled in the art, and a centralprocessing and control unit may be utilized to receive and process thesensed signals and to generate the activation signals. If the automatedseasoning device is automated, the control circuitry may provide anoverride switch to omit the automated seasoning for a particular batchof food items.

Another embodiment of the present invention comprises an automatedsalting device. The automated salting device includes a hopper with ahopper opening; a granular salt dispensing drum positioned to receivegranular salt from the hopper opening; and a pivotable food receivingplatform positioned to receive granular salt from the salt dispensingdrum. In another embodiment, the rotatable drum of the automated saltingdevice includes plural grooves. The automated salting device may furthercomprise a plurality of salt diverter rods positioned between therotatable drum and the pivotable food tray. In still another embodiment,the rotatable drum of the automated salting device may be rotated by adrum motor controlled by the central processing and control unit. Thepivotable food tray of an embodiment of the automated salting devicefurther comprises a tray pivoting mechanism, which may include: arotatable or pivotable food tray motor; at least one cam arm connectedto and driven by the pivotable food tray motor; and at least one hingeblock to allow for rotation. In yet another embodiment, the automatedsalting device further comprises a waste collection tray positioned tocollect waste from the moveable transition tray. In still yet anotherembodiment, the automatic salting device includes a food storage bin orpackaging area positioned to collect the seasoned food items from thepivotable tray, and temporarily store them for further processing by theoperator.

The automatic seasoning device and the automatic salting device moreevenly distribute the seasoning over the pivotable tray, so that thedispersion of the seasoning on the food items located on the pivotabletray is even and consistent throughout the food batch. Seasoningindividual batches eliminates over-seasoning of previously seasonedbatches. There is a labor savings, since seasoning occurs while the frybasket, for example, used for French fries in bulk, is being returned tothe fry station instead of delaying the seasoning until after the frybasket has been returned to the fry station and the operator hasreturned to the food storage bins. In addition, there is betterseasoning adhesion, for example, of salt to French fries, since thefries are salted so quickly after cooking and while they are still hot,the salt adheres to the fries more readily.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is an elevational front view of an embodiment of a foodprocessing station and system in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational side view of an embodiment of a food processingstation and system in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an automated food processing station inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of a portion of another embodiment of thefood item storage bin in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cutaway detailed view of the cooked food item processingstation showing an alternative fry basket and connection thereto inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cutaway view of another embodiment of the invention, showingthe connection of the alternative fry basket attachment of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of one embodiment of the fry basketmanually operable without an attachment according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a detailed perspective view of the food item processingstation showing an automated seasoning delivery system according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 is a cutaway front view of the food item transfer mechanism, inoperation, according to the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic of a control system for the food processingsystem of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, an automated food processingsystem and method are described. The automated food processing systemand method in accordance with the invention allow food to be processedand transferred to a food holding or storage area for subsequentprocessing by a human operator and packaging in a suitable container.

Referring to the figures generally and in particular to FIGS. 1 through3, there are illustrated an elevational front view, side view andperspective view of an automated processing station and system 10 inaccordance with the invention. Automated food processing system 10includes a food processing or preparation station comprising a foodreceiving tray 20 that receives cooked food items from, for example, afry vat that deep fries food items, either in bulk, e.g. French fries,or individually, e.g., fish fillets. The fry vat may be conventional,and the fry baskets used to cook the food in the fry vat may also beconventional. Alternatively, the fry basket may have a structure similarto the fry basket described in commonly owned U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/413,870, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,775,156, issued Aug. 17, 2010,or may have other configurations. The inventive station and systemdescribed herein are not necessarily dependent on the construction ofthe fry basket, but certain features of the inventive food processingstation and system may be utilized, as will be described below, with anyconventional or inventive fry basket.

The method generally used in processing cooked food items may also beused with the present invention. To provide a more readily understoodexplanation, the following description will emphasize cooked Frenchfries in bulk as the food items, although it should be understood that avariety of other food items may be processed in the inventive stationand system.

The cooking process, e.g., French fry deep frying process, is not acritical part of the present invention, except that following thecompletion of cooking, and after the excess oil has been drained orotherwise removed from the cooked food items, but before the food itemshave cooled, the food items are dispensed to a food preparation orprocessing portion of the system, for example, food receiving tray 20.As shown in FIG. 1, a fry basket 30 is shown with a dumping mechanism 32partially open, to permit the French fries to be dumped on to the tray20 out of the bottom of the fry basket, as described in theaforementioned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/413,870, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,775,156, issued Aug. 17, 2010.

The other elements of the food processing station 10 include a foodstorage area, or food storage bins, 40, a seasoning mechanism 50,described in more detail with reference to FIG. 8 below, and a heatsource 140 for maintaining the food items in the storage area 40 at anappropriate temperature prior to serving. Additionally, storage cabinets100 located below the work surfaces of the station 10 may provideappropriate storage space for equipment or packaging supplies. Forproviding easy access to such packaging supplies, quick access bins 102may be disposed above the supplies stored in the station 10. One of thequick access bins 102 may contain a first size of French fry packaging,another a second size, and a third bin may contain a different type ofpackaging supplies, for example, a small paper sack for packaging fishfillet sandwiches or other food items. While four bins 102 are shown inFIGS. 1 and 3, any number of such bins 102, from 2 to 10 or even more,may be provided, depending on the variety of food items that may beprocessed through the station 10.

After the cooked food items have been deposited or dispensed into thefood receiving tray 20, the cooked food items need to be seasoned andprovided with a short cooling off period whereby the seasoning, forexample, salt, adheres to the food items. Care is taken to evenlydistribute the seasoning over the food items. Optionally, the tray 20may be attached to a shaking mechanism to assist in the evendistribution of salt, but because of its shape and configuration, theseasoning mechanism 50 provides extensive distribution of the salt orother seasoning over the surface area of tray 20. The seasoningmechanism 50 is preferably provided in an automated construction thatminimizes the amount of manual labor necessary to complete the seasoningprocess.

An exemplary embodiment of an automated seasoning mechanism device 50 isillustrated in FIG. 1 and described in greater detail with reference toFIG. 8. The seasoning mechanism 50 comprises a seasoning hopper 52 thatis configured to contain the seasoning, for example, salt. The hopper 52may include any structure that holds seasoning prior to its applicationto food items. The hopper 52 can optionally further comprise a hoppercover or housing 54, shown in partial cutaway view in FIG. 8. The hopper52 can be made from a plastic material, such as, but not limited to,molded polyethylene, a metal, for example, stainless steel, or any othersuitable material for holding seasoning. The housing 54 may comprisesheet metal or may be constructed from any material capable ofsupporting the various components of the automatic seasoning mechanism50 and also withstanding for long periods the elevated temperaturesreached in the food processing station 10.

The embodiment of FIG. 1 may comprise an actuation button 56 to startthe seasoning process, or alternatively, an automated actuating sensingdevice 28 (see FIG. 9) may be associated with the food receiving tray20. Sensing device 28 sends a signal to a central processor, whichautomatically starts the seasoning process when food of a predeterminedweight is placed on the food receiving tray 20. Suitable sensing andactuating devices are known to those skilled in the art and include,without limitation, weight sensors, such as a scale or load cell, orultrasonic or optical detectors, or other sensing devices.Alternatively, the button 56 may be used to override the automatedseasoning process and to omit the seasoning step pursuant to thecustomer's order.

Now referring primarily to FIG. 8, details of the seasoning hopper 52 ofan embodiment of an automated seasoning device 50 become more apparent.Referring to FIG. 8, the hopper 52 may include one or more angular walls57 that are sloped toward a hopper opening 58 to direct seasoning, suchas granular salt 55, contained in hopper 52 into the opening 58.

One embodiment of a hopper 52 as depicted in FIG. 8 comprises at leastone side wall 60 that is constructed from a transparent orsemi-transparent solid material, such as for example, but not limitedto: molded polyethylene; polystyrene; or polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA)—more commonly called acrylic glass or simply acrylic. A degree oftransparency for a side wall 60, or other hopper wall, is a desirable,but not necessary, feature in that it renders visible to a user theamount of seasoning 55 in the hopper 52. When the operator notes thatthe seasoning 55 is depleted, the need to recharge the hopper 52 withmore seasoning 55 will be recognized.

Referring again to FIG. 8, a seasoning dispensing drum 62 is positionedto receive seasoning 55 from the hopper opening 58. In one embodiment,the seasoning dispensing drum 62 is rotatable. The seasoning dispensingdrum 62 may be fabricated out of, for example, but not limited to,injection molded acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or otherappropriate material. The seasoning dispensing drum 62 preferablycomprises one or more grooves 64. The grooves 64 may be angularlydisplaced from each other, relative to an axis of rotation of the drum62. The grooves 64 may be designed to accommodate a predetermined orpre-measured amount of seasoning, for example, granular salt. The drum62 may be rotated by a drum motor (not shown), which may be an electricmotor, a battery operated motor, or any other type of motive device thatis known to one skilled in the art and that is capable of rotating thedrum 62. The drum motor is preferably of the stepping-type of motor,which turns the drum 62 through a pre-specified angle of rotation foreach actuation of the drum motor 62. For example, the drum motor may beset to rotate the drum 62 to the extent that one groove 64 of the drumis advanced and to deliver the predetermined amount of seasoning foreach actuation. Alternatively, the drum motor could rotate the drum 62so that several drum grooves 64 are advanced to increase the portion ofseasoning delivered to the food items on the food receiving surface ofthe food receiving tray, depending on the desired amount of salt orseasoning.

Adjacent to the underside of the seasoning dispensing drum 62, oneembodiment of the invention may comprise one or more seasoning diverterrods 66. The diverter rods 66 may be positioned in a staggeredarrangement above and below each other. In one embodiment, a diverterrod 66 is positioned so that the seasoning is dispensed from therotatable seasoning dispensing drum 62, and immediately comes intocontact with the first diverter rod 66. The seasoning is then deflectedinto two seasoning streams which because of the circular profile of eachdiverter rod 66, is a larger or more angularly spaced stream after thedeflection than the original stream. Two more diverter rods 66′ may bepositioned below and offset enough from the first diverter rod 66,closest to the drum 62, so that the streams of seasoning each deflectonce more from one of the offset diverter rods 66′. This results in atleast four streams of seasoning being dispensed from the open bottom 68of automated seasoning mechanism 50. The arrangement of the diverterrods 66, 66′ provides a more even distribution of seasoning in anessentially rectangular pattern. It is further recognized that otherarrangements of diverter rods 66, 66′ are possible. The embodimentdescribed is exemplary and this disclosure recognizes and encompassesalternative seasoning mechanism arrangements of diverter rods that mayprovide the necessary function of dispersing the seasoning 55.

Referring now primarily to FIGS. 3, 9, and to FIG. 4, wherein a detailedview is shown of the pivotable food receiving tray 20. The perspectiveview of FIG. 3 shows the pivotable tray 20 in the loading position(relatively horizontal), while the view of FIG. 9 shows the pivotabletray 20 after it has been pivoted into the unloading position(relatively vertical). Any suitable mechanism may be employed to pivottray 20 between the relatively horizontal and vertical positions. In theembodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 9, the pivotable food receiving tray 20is powered by a tray motor (not shown) internally disposed adjacent thetray pivoting axis PA. The pivoting apparatus further may include a camarm (not shown) and at least one hinge block (not shown), disposedbeneath the tray 20.

The rotatable transition tray motor preferably drives the cam arm andtogether with the hinge block enables the food receiving tray 20 torotate about the pivot from a down, near horizontal, food receivingposition, as shown in FIG. 3, to an up, inclined, near vertical, fooddelivery position, as shown in FIG. 9. For convenience, the grouping ofa tray motor, a cam arm, and at least one hinge block is referred toherein as a tray pivoting mechanism for reciprocally pivoting the tray20 between these two positions. For a more detailed illustration anddescription of the pivoting mechanism, reference is made to commonlyowned U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,328, issued on Dec. 15, 2002, the descriptionof which is herein incorporated by reference, for both the structure andoperation of the tray pivoting mechanism.

The food receiving tray 20 includes several features to provide safetyduring operation. As shown in FIG. 3, and in greater detail in thecutaway detailed view of FIG. 4, a flanged rim 22 surrounds theperiphery of the food receiving tray 20. The flanged rim 22 is in asingle plane and defines a periphery larger than the opening 17 (FIG. 9)of the station housing 19 into which the body of the food receiving tray20 is inserted when it is in the down position as shown in FIG. 3, andin phantom in FIG. 9. The flanged rim 22 also covers any gap that mayresult between the tray body and the opening 17.

As best shown in FIG. 9, but referring also to FIGS. 3 and 4, the foodreceiving tray 20 further comprises a curved housing 23 that extends asa semi-cylindrical member from the flanged lip 22 down toward and intothe opening 17. The tray housing 23 includes two vertical walls, onevertical wall 24 which is shown in FIG. 9, and a rounded rotating wall25 that is integral to and pivots together with the food receiving tray20 when the tray 20 is pivoted in the direction of arrow A. A secondflanged lip (not shown) disposed at the opposite end of the curved wall25 may be optionally included to provide a stop that limits the angle towhich the food receiving tray 20 is permitted to pivot. The walls 24, 25are shaped and dimensioned so that at all times during the pivoting ofthe food receiving tray 20 in the direction of arrow A, and during thereturn to the food loading position (FIG. 3), the gap between theopening 17 of housing 19 and the vertical walls 24 of the food receivingtray is at a minimum to inhibit objects or the operator's finger frombeing caught therein.

As is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the food receiving tray 20 is slightlyinclined as viewed in the direction toward the pivot axis PA and thefood storage bins 40, so that food deposited into the tray 20 willgravitate to the lowest point closest to the housing 19 (FIG. 3). Thebottom of tray 20 includes a plurality of uniformly spaced apertures 26that permit air passages to cool off the food items in the foodreceiving tray 20. Additionally, any stray bits of food or excess oilthat may still be draining from the food items will also pass throughapertures 26 and fall into a waste retrieval collector in a tray (notshown) in the cabinet drawer 116 of station housing 19. The cabinetdrawer 116 may be opened by the operator pulling on handle 118,removing, emptying and replacing the tray and closing the drawer 116.

The waste collection tray (not shown) may be removable for easycleaning. A rear waste collection wall (not shown) within the cabinetdrawer may be curved or angled. Thus, any waste matter falling throughthe plurality of perforations 26 of the food receiving tray 20 willimpact the rear waste collection wall or directly fall into the wastecollection tray. Further, when the pivotable food receiving tray 20 isin the upright food delivery position (FIG. 9), waste matter that mayhave accumulated on the rear waste collection wall will be transferreddirectly into the waste collection tray in the drawer 116.

In an alternative embodiment, the pivotable food receiving tray may beconstructed more closely in accordance with known automated foodprocessing systems, for example, as is the pivotable cooked food dumpmechanism that is described in aforementioned commonly owned U.S. Pat.No. 5,172,328.

After the food is seasoned, food receiving tray 20 is pivoted to itsgenerally vertical food delivery position so that the food items thereonslide or tumble into food storage area 40. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 3, food storage area 40 includes two separate bins 42, 44 separatedby a vertically extending separating divider 46 that is shaped anddimensioned to fit within a correspondingly shaped groove 47 (FIG. 4)extending across the divide between the bins 42, 44. In someembodiments, in which the storage area 40 is intended to hold only onetype of food item, e.g., bulk French fries, neither the divider 46 norgroove 47 is necessary. However, if the storage bins 40 are to holddifferent types of processed food items, for example, fish fillets ordeep fried cheese sticks, in addition to French fries, and to maintain aseparation so that food items do not mix, then one or more dividers 46will be necessary. While a single divider 46 is shown in FIG. 3, it isto be appreciated that additional dividers may be introduced in the foodstorage bins 40 to accommodate a greater variety of food item types.

Alternatively, the divided bins 42, 44 may be used as a batch separatorfor providing the ability to the operator to move the previouslyprocessed batch of a single type of food item, for example, Frenchfries, from bin 42 to bin 44. This configuration can isolate the fooditems that were cooked in a previous batch and have not yet been servedfor immediate packaging and serving. The previous batch of food itemsmay be manually moved by the operator from bin 42 to bin 44, oralternatively, an automated device may move the previous batch prior topivoting of food receiving tray 20. This first in, first out method ofproviding the food items to customers aids in the operator's desire toavoid serving any cold and stale food items that have been mixed in witha new batch of food items. The batch separator system maintains theconsistency and freshness of the food items stored in the food storagearea 40.

As can be seen from the more detailed cutaway view of the storage binarea 40 in FIG. 4, the walls and bottom of the bins 42, 44 also includea plurality of small apertures 48 that permit the food to be subjectedto circulating air so as to retain freshness and flavor. Additionalapertures 49 may be included in the vertical walls of food storage area40. As in the structure of the pivotable food receiving tray 20, theapertures 48 are provided to permit any waste matter that is present inthe food items, for example, broken off small pieces of food, that arenot desirable to be served to customers, from accumulating in the foodstorage area 40. Of course, cabinets or drawers 100 located below thefood storage bins 42, 44 may include trays to catch any waste matterthat has fallen through the apertures 48, similar to that described withreference to drawer 116 above.

An individual food package rack 120 is disposed at the side of the fooditem processing station 10 opposite from the food receiving tray 20.Rack 120 is shown as comprised of a wire or metal rod mesh rack havingspaces between the individual metal rods or wires 122 to keep theindividual packages upright. If the food items comprise, for example,French fries, the operator can manually remove one individual packagefrom the quick access bins 102, load it with food items from one of thefood storage bins 42, 44, and place it within the wire rack 120 in acondition ready for serving to the customer.

An important feature of the automated station and system is to maintainproduct integrity and freshness. One facet of that is to move productthat has exceeded its authorized holding time limit. The mechanicaldesign of automated processing station and system 10 assures asubstantially “first in-first out” product movement in that the operatorcan move the previous batch of cooked food items from bin 42 to bin 44,place a fresh batch of food into bin 42, and dispose of any food itemsthat have been held in the storage bins for too long a time. It ispossible that some food items in the storage area will have reachedtheir time holding limit, but through proper operator training andscheduling of cooking procedures, this can be minimized.

As in most conventional food processing stations of this type, there isa heat source 140, which generally may include a plurality of heatinglamps 142 (FIG. 3), that emit infrared (IR) radiation onto the fooditems in the storage bins 42, 44 and on rack 120 to keep the temperatureof any food therein at an appropriate level until the food items areready for serving and pickup by the customer. It has been noted that theradiation emanating from the heat lamps 142 may include wavelengthswhich may have an unwanted effect on the skin of an operator who iscontinually handling food items in the food storage area as a result ofrepeated exposure to the electromagnetic radiation. For example, theradiation may feel warm on the skin or may cause temporary redness ofthe skin.

Accordingly, to eliminate or reduce the impingement of electromagneticradiation that may cause such effect on the operator, a filter 144,preferably comprising a heat glass shield, is interposed between theheat source 140 and the bins 42, 44 and the rack 120. Ideally, theradiation that is filtered out by shield 144 is those particularwavelength ranges that are known to cause tanning to some skin types,e.g., ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths, while permitting the IR wavelengthsthat provide for heating of the food items to penetrate through thefilter 144.

The screen or filter 144 may comprise any suitable material, but a glassplate having entrained therein an appropriate additive that absorbselectromagnetic radiation in the range of the undesirable wavelengths isideal. The electromagnetic spectrum range that is preferably filteredout by the filter 144 is in the wavelength range of from about 280 nm toabout 380 nm.

In the alternative, a convective heat source (not shown) may be providedunderneath food storage area 40 for heating the food contained in bins42, 44 and on rack 120. This may be either in place of or in addition toheat source 140 located above food storage area 40. Suitable convectiveheat sources are known in the art.

Another embodiment for having an automated fry basket opening of the frybasket bottom is shown in FIG. 5, and in greater detail with respect tothe triggering mechanism for opening the bottom, in the fragmenteddetail view of FIG. 6. In order to provide a retrofit capability to themounting arrangement for mounting of the fry basket onto the back wall150 of the food processing station 10, an alternate embodiment frybasket 160 has been developed. The alternative embodiment fry basket 160has been constructed for mounting on a conventional mount such as thosewhich are presently in use.

A conventional mount 90 is shown attached to the back wall 150 of thehousing of the food processing station by, for example, a bolt or screwconnection 152. The conventional baskets may be mounted to anappropriate one of a plurality of the mounting brackets 90, one of whichis shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. The attachment mount 90 has an upperflange 154 which together with back wall 150 define a groove 156 ontowhich the hook 168 of the conventional or alternate embodiment frybasket 160 can attach. Attachment of the fry basket 160 by means of hook168 being inserted into the groove 156 permits the basket to rotateabout the hook connection so that a support flange combination canrotate around the connection. A pivot pin 166 may come to rest againstan end surface 92 of the mount 90. With this configuration, the basketbottom 176, comprising wire mesh walls 162, wire support rods 164, 158and a pivot lever 169, pivotably attached to pivot pin 166, permit twohalves of the bottom portion of wire basket 160 to pivot outwardly. Thatis, when actuated by an automated depressing of an actuator button 170,the two halves of the basket bottom 176 are rotated out of and into theplane of the views shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, thus dumping the contentsfrom the basket 160 onto the food receiving tray 20.

The alternative embodiment basket 160 further includes an actuatorbutton 170 that is capable of actuating the dump mechanism 172 (FIG. 5)that opens a catch 174, which in turn triggers an opening of the frybasket bottom 176 by swinging or pivoting around an axis that isparallel to the longitudinal edge of the top portion 178 of the basket160. The exact structure of dump mechanism 172 is not critical, and anyof several key/latch structures are suitable. The common element in theavailable designs for the dump mechanism 172 is that the weight of thefood items in the basket 160 causes the bottom to open by pivoting whenactuated.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the button 170 actuates alatch that holds two levers which retain the pivotable bottom of the frybasket 160 in the closed position. When the latch is actuated, thelevers release the fry basket bottom 176, and the weight of the fooditems in the basket cause the dump mechanism 172 in the fry basket toopen by pivoting about the pivot pin 166. Although shown in FIG. 5 priorto the activation, it should be understood that actuation is possiblesimply by the operator transferring the fry basket 160 over the foodreceiving tray 20 and mounting it on the bracket 90, thereby causingbutton 170 to trip the latch 174, which event automatically triggers thedump operation.

This operation will be repeated numerous times in the course of amealtime rush, and consequently it is preferred that the mountingattachment 90 be made of a durable, easily cleaned material, forexample, stainless steel, although other materials may also be foundsuitable to withstand the wear and tear of continuous and repeated use.

Referring now to FIG. 7, the fry basket 160 is shown in the openposition in which the contents in the fry basket 160, in this caseFrench fries, are in the process of being dumped onto the food receivingtray 20. In this embodiment, the operator dumps the contents by mountingthe hook 168 onto the mount attachment 90 to actuate the opening of twobottom halves of the basket bottom 176 of the fry basket 160. In thisembodiment, the fry basket handle is shown as a standard flattenedhandle 130, but the construction of the present invention describedherein also permits using the forearm supports 136, as shown in theembodiment of fry basket 30 (FIGS. 1 and 2) and as described in detailin aforementioned U.S. application Ser. No. 11/413,870, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,775,156, issued Aug. 17, 2010.

After the dumping operation, the operator may withdraw either fry basket30 or 160 to a mounting bracket at the fry vat station (not shown)disposed at the fry station above the fry vat. Of course, that mountingbracket at the fry station (not shown) must have a mechanism to avoidactuating the button 170 of the fry basket 160 so as to retain thebasket bottom 176 closed, when the basket is draining the excess oilover the fry vat. As this mount must be completed without releasing thecontents into the fry vat, such a mechanism may comprise, for example,an aperture on the mount at the height where the button that wouldimpinge to provide an appropriate recess to house the button 170 withoutcausing actuation. Alternatively, a wire rack mount (not shown) may beprovided that has no vertical wall capable of depressing the button 170,thus maintaining the fry basket bottom 176 in the closed position.

As shown in FIG. 10, all of the principal elements of the foodprocessing system are preferably under automatic control of controller200. Controller 200 may be a microprocessor or microcontroller baseddevice such as a personal computer or, preferably, a dedicatedcontroller. An example of a suitable dedicated controller is anAllen-Bradley Micrologix 1100 controller available from RockwellAutomatic of Milwaukee, Wis. Controller 200 may also be a computer,server or controller which operates other equipment in the restaurant.Controller 200 receives a signal from actuating sensing device 28 whichis located under food receiving tray 20. Sensing device 28 may be aweight sensor, for example, a load cell, which outputs an analog weightsignal which is input to controller 200. Upon receipt of a weight signalindicating that tray 20 is loaded with a predetermined weight of food,controller 200 sends a signal to seasoning device 50 to initiate theseasoning process for the food as previously described. Upon completionof the seasoning process, controller 200 sends a signal to the pivotingapparatus for food tray 20 to pivot food tray 20 to the essentiallyvertical position as described above.

Controller 200 also controls heating source 140 to maintain the propertemperature in food storage area 40. A temperature sensor 43 located infood storage area 40 (that is, in proximity to food storage bins 42, 44and food package rack 120) sends a temperature signal to controller 200.In response to that temperature signal, controller 200 can turn heatsource 140 on or off, or can vary the intensity of heat by, e.g.,turning on or off one or more of heating lamps 142 in heat source 140,or varying the current supplied to heating lamps 142 to vary their heatoutput. Temperature sensor 43 may be any suitable sensor known in theart, such as a thermocouple or RTD.

While the invention has been described with respect to certain preferredembodiments, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, it isto be understood that the invention is capable of numerous changes,modifications and rearrangements and such changes, modifications andrearrangements are intended to be covered by the following claims.

1. An automated method of processing cooked food items comprising: a)depositing the cooked food items onto a food item receiving platformwhen the platform is in a substantially horizontal food receivingposition; b) sensing the presence of the food items on the food itemreceiving platform; c) initiating operation of an automated seasoningdevice in response to receiving a signal of sensed food items on thefood item receiving platform when the platform is in a substantiallyhorizontal food receiving position; d) depositing a preselected amountof seasoning from the automated seasoning device onto the food items onthe food item receiving platform; and e) after depositing the amount ofseasoning, activating a mechanism to transfer the food items from thefood item receiving platform to a food storage bin by raising theplatform to an inclined position.
 2. The method of processing cookedfood items according to claim 1 further comprising directing radiantenergy onto the food items in the food storage bin.
 3. The method ofprocessing cooked food items according to claim 2 wherein the radiantenergy is directed through a selective radiant energy filter, the filterfiltering at least a portion of a preselected range of radiant energywave lengths.
 4. The method of processing cooked food items according toclaim 3 wherein the filter is capable of filtering at least a portion ofthe radiant energy in the wavelength range of from about 200 nm to about380 nm.
 5. The method of processing cooked food items according to claim1 wherein activating the mechanism to transfer the food items causes themechanism to pivot the platform from a substantially horizontal positionto at least a substantially vertical position for dumping the food itemsin the tray.
 6. The method of processing cooked food items according toclaim 1 wherein the mechanism to transfer the food items includes apivotable tray that pivots the tray to at least a substantially verticalposition for dumping the food items in the tray.
 7. The method ofprocessing cooked food items according to claim 1 wherein after transferof the food items, infrared heat is directed toward the food items tomaintain their temperature at an appropriate temperature, the infraredheat passing through a filter that filters out a preselected range ofinfrared wavelengths therefrom.
 8. The method of processing cooked fooditems according to claim 1 further comprising delivering the cooked fooditems in a handheld fry basket to the platform, wherein depositing thecooked food items onto a food item receiving platform comprises removingthe cooked food items from the handheld fry basket.
 9. The method ofprocessing cooked food items according to claim 1 further comprisingdelivering the cooked food items in a handheld fry basket to theplatform, wherein depositing the cooked food items onto a food itemreceiving platform comprises hanging a handheld fry basket on a bracket,the bracket responsive to the hanging actuating a release device on thefry basket that releases a catch so as to open the bottom of the frybasket.
 10. The method of processing cooked food items according toclaim 9, wherein the bracket is at a fixed location vertically above thefood item receiving platform.
 11. The method of processing cooked fooditems according to claim 1 wherein the automated seasoning devicecomprises a hopper having a hopper opening and a rotatable dispensingdrum positioned to receive seasoning from the hopper through the hopperopening, wherein depositing a preselected amount of seasoning comprisesrotating the dispensing drum to dispense seasoning from the automatedseasoning device.
 12. The method of processing cooked food itemsaccording to claim 11 wherein depositing a preselected amount ofseasoning further comprises dispersing the dispensed seasoning.
 13. Themethod of processing cooked food items according to claim 1 furthercomprising separating waste matter in the food items from the food itemsin the food storage bin.
 14. The method of processing cooked food itemsaccording to claim 13 further comprising collecting the separated wastematter.
 15. The method of processing cooked food items according toclaim 1 further comprising loading an individual package with one ormore food items from the food storage bin.
 16. The method of processingcooked food items according to claim 15 further comprising placing theloaded individual package in a rack for keeping the loaded individualpackage upright for service to a customer.
 17. An automated method ofprocessing cooked food items comprising: a) depositing the cooked fooditems onto a food item receiving platform; b) sensing the presence ofthe food items on the food item receiving platform; c) initiatingoperation of an automated seasoning device in response to receiving asignal of sensed food items on the food item receiving platform; d)depositing a preselected amount of seasoning from the automatedseasoning device onto the food items on the food item receivingplatform; and e) after depositing the amount of seasoning, activating amechanism to transfer the food items from the food item receivingplatform to a food storage bin, wherein the activated mechanismtransfers the food items by pivoting and raising the platform to atleast a substantially vertical position to transfer the food items fromthe platform into the bin.
 18. An automated method of processing cookedfood items cooked in a handheld fry basket, the method comprising: a)removing the cooked food items from the handheld fry basket; b)depositing the removed cooked food items onto a food item receivingplatform; c) sensing the presence of the food items on the food itemreceiving platform; d) initiating operation of an automated seasoningdevice in response to receiving a signal of sensed food items on thefood item receiving platform; e) depositing a preselected amount ofseasoning from the automated seasoning device onto the food items on thefood item receiving platform; and f) after depositing the amount ofseasoning, activating a mechanism to transfer the food items from thefood item receiving platform to a food storage bin.
 19. The method ofprocessing cooked food items according to claim 18 further comprisingdelivering the handheld fry basket containing the cooked food items tothe platform.
 20. The method of processing cooked food items accordingto claim 18 wherein depositing the cooked food items onto the food itemreceiving platform comprises hanging the handheld fry basket on abracket, the bracket responsive to the hanging actuating a releasedevice on the fry basket that releases a catch so as to open the bottomof the fry basket.